KidLit Forum

What I found very interesting in this book is the concept of home. On one hand, Kansas is a vast place without colour and beuty, full with dangerous cyclons. On the other hand, Oz seems to be fantastic and gorgeous. It is a marvelous city with forests, flowers, helpful people. It seems strange that Dorothy want to leave this land for her home. But the little girl never questions her return home. It seems that she realizes the significance of one’s roots.

Another astonishing thing is the concept of self-sufficiency. The Scarecrow does not think he possesses brains, the Tin Woodman laments his lack of heart and the Lion thinks he has no courage. Soon we realize that all these characters possess what it is they think they lack, but they are unable to see this for themselves. They believe they must ask the Wizard of Oz to help them. But in reality they do not have to ask anybody to fix their problem, they actually have within them what they need. The same strategy applies for Dorothy, who was already wearing the silver shoes that could have taken her home without the help of the witch. All these details made me realize that the all we need is within our inner depth and we are self-sufficient.

The novel makes it also clear how important friendship is. Dorothy’s friends provide her emotional and physical power. Her friends provide advice and together solve the journey’s problems. They are her protectors, her confidents and they volunteer to accompany her in a trip even if they have other duties. All this made us questioning if Dorothy would have arrived far without their help. The journey had an important value over Dorothy. It gave her some lessons: she appreciated the value of friendship, she saw the fight between good and evil, she learned to trust herself and her inner emotions. The journey gave her much more insight into herself.

From the beginning, Dorothy is driven by this strong desire to return home, which is completely understandable. She is just a victim: she hasn’t left her home willingly, looking for adventure like Alice (who is dying of boredom) or the Darling children (who run away, or better say fly,from home to have fun). So everything she goes through is not perceived as adventure, but obstacles she has to overcome in order to go back home.

Dorothy's journey is not like an initiation journey, she doesn't need to prove anything to anyone. She didn't ran away from home, she was taken away, she didn't ask for it. Throughout her journey she faced many dangers and she has learnt that in life there are moments when one has to make a choice and must trust his/her instincts. Dorothy's journey might be a path to self-awareness and autonomy.

At the end of her journey, Dorothy is happy to have achieved her greatest wish: to return to her Aunt and Uncle in Kansas.

The value of the journey - Dorothy's route back to Kansas is not simple.This journey provided her with several life lessons. She learned the value of friendship through her three traveling companions. She came face-to-face with the reality of duplicity and lies through the Wizard's shocking reveal as an ordinary man. She saw the fight between Good and Evil play out through the Witches. She found herself tested emotionally and physically. And, finally, she learned to trust herself and that the answers to her problems lie within her. She benefited from the company of others but the solution of how to get back to Kansas could be found within all along.